Ouch!! 20 states that still paddle pupils

Think paddling is the key to controlling unruly schoolchildren? Think again. The American Academy of Pediatrics is one of many organizations that now oppose corporal punishment in schools. It says hitting kids impairs their self-image and school achievement. What's more, it says, hitting kids lays the foundation for even more violence and disruptive behavior. If that's the case, why do some states still allow students to be paddled?

With the help of Human Rights Watch, we've assembled the following list of states that permit corporal punishment. Keep clicking to see just where they're still swinging the paddle.

The ranking is based on data from the 2006-2007 school year, the most recent data available.

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21. Wyoming

Paddling is permitted in Wyoming, but no students in the state were paddled during the 2006-2007 school year.

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20. Colorado

Colorado paddled 8 students. That's 0.001 percent of students in the state.

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19. Arizona

Arizona paddled 16 students. That's 0.002 percent of students in the state.

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18. Kansas

Kansas paddled 50 students. That's 0.01 percent of students in the state.

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17. Ohio*

Ohio banned corporal punishment of students in 2009. But during the 2006-2007 school year, the state paddled 672 students, or 0.038 percent of students in the state.

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16. Idaho

Idaho paddled 111 students. That's 0.044 percent of students in the state.

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15. Indiana

Indiana paddled 577 students. That's 0.05 percent of students in the state.

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14. North Carolina

North Carolina paddled 2,705 students. That's 0.19 percent of students in the state.

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13. South Carolina

South Carolina paddled 1,409 students. That's 0.20 percent of students in the state.

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12. New Mexico

New Mexico paddled 705 students. That's 0.22 percent of students in the state.

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11. Florida

Florida paddled 7,185 students. That's 0.26 percent of students in the state.

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10. Kentucky

Kentucky paddled 2,209 students. That's 0.33 percent of students in the state.

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9. Missouri

Missouri paddled 5,129 students. That's 0.55 percent of students in the state.

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8. Texas

Texas paddled 49,157 schoolchildren. That's 1.08 percent of students in the state.

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7. Georgia

Georgia paddled 18,249 students. That's 1.12 percent of students in the state.

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6. Tennessee

Tennessee paddled 14,868 students. That's 1.47 percent of students in the state.

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5. Louisiana

Louisiana paddled 11,080 students. That's 1.69 percent of students in the state.

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4. Oklahoma

Oklahoma paddled 14,828 students. That's 2.33 percent of students in the state.

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3. Alabama

Alabama paddled 33,716 students. That's 4.54 percent of students in the state.

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2. Arkansas

Arkansas paddled 22,314 students. That's 4.67 percent of students in the state.

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1. Mississippi

When it comes to paddling students' bottoms, Mississippi is tops. It paddled 38,131 schoolchildren, or 7.50 percent of those in the state.